The file of the former CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Lebanese businessman Carlos Ghosn, has returned to the forefront recently through a request received by the Lebanese judiciary from the Turkish authorities a few days ago.
This article was originally published in, translated from the Arab outlet of Asharq Al-Awsat.
In the request, they asked for the interrogation of two Lebanese suspects believed to be involved in smuggling Ghosn from Japan to Turkey and from there to Lebanon at the end of 2019.
Lebanon did not delay in cooperating with the Turkish memorandum, as a well-informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the Lebanese civilian pilot (N.M), who owns a private aircraft company based at Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport, was interrogated by the Lebanese judiciary."
The source indicated that the pilot's interrogation came "in the execution of the Turkish request, which requested Lebanese cooperation starting with the interrogation of this person, who owns a private civilian aircraft company based at Beirut Airport, in addition to another person named George Zayek, who is a Lebanese-American citizen as well."
The Turkish authorities accuse the Lebanese pilot and Zayek, among others, of "forming an active group in smuggling refugees, including Carlos Ghosn, who was transferred by a private plane from Istanbul Airport to Rafic Hariri International Airport, in the middle of the night on December 29-30, 2019."
Information suggests that "while the private plane was at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, (N.K.) was seen on the airport grounds, accompanied by Zayek, in addition to the Turkish citizen Okan Kosemen, before the plane took off for Beirut."
Lebanon received a copy of the red notice issued by Interpol in early 2020, based on the Japanese arrest warrant issued against Ghosn after his escape.
The Lebanese judiciary implemented this notice by subjecting Ghosn to an investigation, preventing him from traveling and confiscating his passports.
According to information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, the interrogated pilot denied any involvement in Ghosn's smuggling, and he stated that "his presence at Istanbul Airport at the time of Carlos Ghosn's arrival was purely coincidental."
He claimed that "the person named Okan Kosemen is his partner and owns shares in the private aviation company and that the envelope he received from him contained contracts for operating civilian aircraft they jointly own."
The mentioned source clarified that "the interrogated pilot was repeatedly asked if he had traveled from Japan to Istanbul and from there to Beirut on December 29, 2019, and he denied it. He confirmed that he did not accompany Carlos Ghosn on his escape journey but was a victim of being at Istanbul Airport at the moment of Ghosn's arrival."
He also denied having any information about the identities of the individuals who came aboard the private plane that transported Ghosn from Istanbul to Beirut.
The Turkish memo that reopened the Ghosn case also confirmed the involvement of other individuals in Ghosn's smuggling, including the American Michael Taylor and his son Peter, who were arrested in the United States and confessed to their involvement in the operation with George Zayek, an American of Lebanese origin, and surveillance cameras recorded all three of them at Tokyo Airport during Ghosn's smuggling.
The informed source confirmed that "the judiciary also interrogated George Zayek about the content of the Turkish request and provided the Turkish judiciary with the transcripts of the interrogations, and Lebanon supplied the Turkish side with the investigation records, and it remains to be seen whether the Turks have any other demands."
The Japanese ambassador to Lebanon visited the General Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, Judge Ghassan Oueidat, and discussed Carlos Ghosn's file.
There was also a presentation of the investigation session that will be held in Lebanon in mid-September in the lawsuit filed by Ghosn against the Japanese company Nissan and 12 of its employees, accusing them of "defaming and charging him with financial corruption crimes, damaging his reputation," and demanding one billion US dollars in financial compensation.